


The Broken Ones

by MidnightCity



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Gen, Pre-Weirdmageddon, they can't communicate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-01-31 18:26:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21450715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightCity/pseuds/MidnightCity
Summary: Had they already drifted so far apart that they wouldn’t even accept each other’s help when in need?
Relationships: Ford Pines & Stan Pines
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	The Broken Ones

“Stanley!” Ford screamed and watched in horror as his brother didn’t avoid getting hit by the monster. There was a sickening crunch when his back impacted with the wall and the wood cracked underneath his weight.

Ford hoped that it was only the wood that had splintered and not much worse. Right now, he couldn’t afford to get side-tracked by this. He had to keep a cool head. He had to take a deep breath and concentrate. If he would lose control now, he would lose the battle and then a fate far worse than broken bones would await them.

_In … _

He drew in a deep breath and held it as he aimed for the monster that had just attacked them. With the beat of his heart slowing down, Ford could feel the control he started to gain over his body once more. So with a surprisingly steady hand he aimed at the creatures.

_… Out … _

He shouted, “Hey, knucklehead!” to draw attention away from Stanley and towards him.

Without missing a beat, the creatures growled and started to sprint towards Ford. He took another deep breath, willing himself to stay calm.

_… In … _

This time he could not afford failure. He had to stand his ground and never leave his target out of sight. His aim had to be perfect! 

_… out … _

Ford pulled the trigger. Suddenly the creature stopped mid-motion, sensing that something had happened to its body. Ford wouldn’t let down his gun until he could be sure that it was unconscious. And yet, his eyes wandered towards where he had hit it. He expected blood to form and spill from the wound. He had to force himself to ban the images that appeared in his mind about how that would look like. After all he was using a stunner, not a projectile that could draw blood.

The creatures swayed from side to side, leaving Ford to wonder if he should blast it once more when finally it toppled over. The heavy contact with the ground caused the house to vibrate.

However, Ford couldn’t afford to relax just yet. If it should wake up sooner than expected, they were in serious trouble. Maybe they wouldn’t be so lucky the next time. Ford’s eyes flickered to Stanley for a moment – he was still lying unconscious on the floor, probably in pain. If not worse. Ford had to redefine what he called “lucky.”

It took almost all of his willpower to tear his eyes away from his brother. _His injured brother, _his brain needlessly reminded him. He had to keep the creature in mind, just to make sure that it was out of action. So Ford started to count to ten.

As the number got bigger in his head, so did the panic. It had started as a knot inside his stomach, only to turn into a mess of voices inside his head. All of them asking _what if _questions. _What if Stanley was injured? What if he had broken his back? What if he had a concussion? What if he was bleeding to death right now? _Right now while Ford was trying to focus, trying to remain calm and keep the creature in sight.

“Damn it!” Ford cursed. He had only reached the number eight. Even with Stanley mere meters away, Ford was unable to tell if he was breathing right now. He couldn’t bear the thought that he would lose him because of his negligence.

“Stan?” Ford called out. His own voice sounded wrong in his ears. It was not the commanding tone he should have adopted in such a situation. Instead he almost sounded like he was pleading with whatever power held the scales in this moment.

Ford shook his head and shot the creature one more time. He had to make sure that it would not recover any time soon, but he was also running out of time when it came to Stanley. The gun dropped to the floor as he ran towards Stanley and fell onto his knees next to him. He was tempted to shake him until he would wake up. However, the small voice of reason that still remained warned him of this. Ford could not know the extent of his injuries and if there was anything wrong with his spine such actions might cause permanent damage. Only if the damage was not already there …

Instead, Ford moved in calculated ways and started to feel for his pulse. He had to blink several times until his vision cleared while he was counting the steady beats that he could feel against his fingers.

Relief washed over him, and he placed his hand against Stanley’s cheek, feeling the warmth against his cold hands. “Stan?” Ford mumbled. He had to wake him up, and if it was only for the very selfish reason to see the colour of his eyes. “Wake up.”

After a painful moment of silence, Stanley blinked slowly and a grunt escaped him. It took a while until he managed to regain full consciousness and take in his surroundings.

“Are you all right?” Ford asked and tried to relax. Even when his brain began to list all the possible bones that could be broken as well as any other possible injuries.

This only seemed to be confirmed when Stan tried to move and his face twisted in pain. “Stay down,” Ford instructed him. He wished that he had all the answers to this situation but he wasn’t even sure if they could call an ambulance. The slimy monster was only the tip of the iceberg, there was also the issue that according to the state there was only one Pine twin left in this world … 

However, Stan was having none of this and simply shrugged him off. Despite the obvious pain, Stanley was pushing himself up. “I am fine,” he protested. Only then did Ford notice that his hands were mere inches away from touching his brother in case he should fall.

Suddenly, Stan’s knee gave away. Instead of accepting any help from Ford, he leaned against the wall and waved him off with an angry grunt.

Ford swallowed hard, trying to appear neutral and indifferent to the rejection. He didn’t want to accept how this caused his stomach to twist and the gloom that had started to spread inside his stomach. Had they already drifted so far apart that they wouldn’t even accept each other’s help when in need?

Right now, Ford could only watch as Stanley limped into the kitchen. He was torn between following his brother and trying to help or turning his attention back to the monster lying on the ground. The second option would be easier, it would spare him the wrath and the difficult emotions that were still left unsaid between them. But Ford had to remember that he had left Stanley to fend for himself too often in the past … Where had that lead them?

So he clenched his teeth, took a deep breath, and walked towards the kitchen as well. His mind kept replaying the scream that had left Stanley’s mouth at the impact. However, he was unable to place if it was from almost thirty years or thirty minutes ago.

“Damn it,” Ford cursed under his breath. This time he was determined to mend the distance between them that had become a chasm over the last decades. He had tried ever since he had returned from this realm but every conversation seems to escalate or end in a misunderstanding. He wouldn’t let it happen again. They couldn’t go on like this. 

When Ford entered, he took in the scene: Stanley was sitting on a chair and applying a cool-aid to his wrist, at the expense of the red skin that started to swell on his cheek.

“You should put something on there as well,” Ford suggested and gestured at the area.

At least when these words had left his mouth, Stanley showed a reaction and spared him a lance. It was only to roll his eyes at him and respond with “I only have so many hands.”

Ford suppressed the urge to flinch back at the anger in his voice. A part of him couldn’t stand the aggressive tone, it sent a shiver down his spine and made him retreat to his science.

However, he wasn’t a child anymore, Ford reminded himself. He took a deep breath and sat down next to Stanley. At least this time, he didn’t push Ford away – physically or verbally. Ford didn’t push his luck either; he wouldn’t suggest holding a cool pack against his cheek. Instead he offered to take a look at this wrist.

There was a moment of silence in which Ford feared that Stanley might lash out at him again or walk out of the room. The only response he got eventually, was a shake of his head.

Ford felt a heavy weight set on his shoulders. He knew that the wrist was most likely not broken but it wouldn’t have hurt to take a look either. At least he tried to tell himself, that it was the medical aspect that caused his heart to bleed right now. Why couldn’t Stanley see that he was trying to fix them? Fix their relationship!? The house should have been empty, and Ford would never mean for Stanley to get hurt!

Suddenly Stanley pushed back his chair and Ford jumped at the sound of it scraping against the hardwood floor. Had he spoken out loud?! Ford thought for a horrifying moment. He watched as Stanley walked over to the sink to remove the cool-aid and inspect the damage himself.

“It’s really no problem,” Ford offered again. Maybe it would sooth his soul if he managed to help him in little ways. “I have acquired a substantial knowledge about the human physiology over the years I can …”

“I am fine.”

Ford couldn’t stop babbling, he was nervous and scared for Stanley and he didn’t know what else to do.

“I don’t need your help!” Stanley spat out and cut him off. “I’ve managed all those years on my own as well.”

Ford took a deep breath in an effort to maintain control as the anger started to bubble up inside of him. He couldn’t place if it came from hurt but at the moment, he didn’t care and neither did he want to know.

“I didn’t ask you to bring me back!” Ford shot back. He wasn’t sure what he meant by that. He had hated the other realms, living in fear most of the time, one awful nightmare after another and ever blip of hope being shattered soon after. It made he want to wash his memory clean. “It wasn’t a walk in the park for me either but at least I am trying to own up to my mistakes!”

When he saw Stanley’s brows knit in anger, he knew that he couldn’t take the comment back or explain it. He had passed the point of no return and Ford was damned if he backed up now.

“Well then? Shouldn’t you be glad to be back?!” Stanley brought out between clenched teeth. “But no! It’s still Stanley did that wrong, and I, Ford, am doing this and much better! It’s always about you in the end. Isn’t it!?!”

Ford clenched his fists and was ready to respond but Stanley ignore him. Instead he took a step towards Ford and went on. “And it still only is about you!” Ford tried to keep calm; he knew that Stanley wouldn’t hurt him – at least not seriously but so close his voice began to ring in his ears. “You didn’t even bother to check if anyone was still around before you started playing your little pet over there!” 

“Playing!?” He should know better than to jump at the bait. “This is serious work! And for your information …” Ford began to poked at his chest. “… It shouldn’t have gotten out, I took every precaution I could think of!”

“Well it clearly wasn’t good enough!” Stanley shouted back and clenched his fists. The movement caused him to visibly flinch. Ford took a step back, being reminded once more than Stanley was wounded. He couldn’t help the image of Stanley accidentally grinding his own split and broken bones against each other because they riled each other up!

It seemed that it was this moment of weakness that they needed to calm down. When they looked at each other once more, the anger slowly ebbed away. They both seemed to see the chaos and turmoil they had caused. All the pieces lay scattered around and neither seemed to have any clue how to fix any of it.

Ford took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds to regain control of his mind and body again.

_You’re right, Stanley, I should have been more thoughtful and checked if anyone was in the house. _If Ford was honest, he was lucky that the children hadn’t been at home. He wouldn’t have been able to forgive himself if anything had happened to them. Even worse, it would have made the split between him and Stanley final.

However, Ford couldn’t find it in himself to say these words out loud. He didn’t now what was holding him back, instead he seemed to look at the scene from the outside and nothing made any sense to him anymore.

“What happened between us?” Ford found himself asking. How had they ended up like that? So misunderstood and broken apart when they had been two pieces of the same puzzle during childhood.

Stanley took a deep breath. He took his glasses off and rubbed the space between his eyes, then Stanley shook his head. Ford could tell that he hadn’t meant it to tell him off but it had been a final sign of defeat - he didn’t have the answer but wouldn’t it have been easier if he had?

Ford felt darkness fill the inside of him, dread pulling him under, but he knew that there was nothing he could do to escape it. There was no safely line which he could reach, they were stuck in this mess and there was no easy fix. Both of them knew that.

“Ford?” Stanley began. Now Ford could see the bags underneath his eyes, the hard lines … he looked tired and beaten. Ford knew that Stanley was not the only one. “I am going to lie down for a moment, okay.”

Ford nodded and watched him leave. When he reached the stair, he couldn’t help but offer, “Call me if you need anything.” He couldn’t let him walk away just like that …

“I won’t,” Stanley responded. Ford looked up at him, fearing that the darkness would never leave him again. But then he added, “… I told you, I am fine but I’ll keep it in mind, Sixer.” He offered a weak smile.

Ford returned it, feeling his heart ache at the familiarity of the nickname. Then he watched him walk away. Maybe there was still hope left, maybe they could find their way back to each other and become the team they had been all those years ago – all these years before tragedy, drama and family feud had come between them. If only there was a way, they could meet on common ground without bringing up burden, guilt and mistakes made decades ago. Nobody ever taught them how to deal with the pain and anger, and how to communicate without hurting one another.

He sighed, and also found himself rubbing the space between his eyes. They were burning and right now, he couldn’t tell if it was from lack of sleep or because the day was getting to him. For a moment, he wondered if it really mattered at all. Instead, he sighed and turned towards the creature.

He had work to do … Maybe cleaning up the mess would only be a small step in mending the bridge between them, but it was a start …


End file.
